


A father once

by Kail_lizuc



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Classic Doctor Who References, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I am weak for fatherly doctor, Rory's pov, Tender doctor, and a bit of angst, but just a little I promise, fatherly doctor, paternal Doctor, the doctor being a dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-12
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-05 23:01:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,135
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25853293
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kail_lizuc/pseuds/Kail_lizuc
Summary: Thinking back, the way the Doctor acted around Melody had been almost… paternal. It was like a switch had been flicked in his mind the moment he saw Rory's baby, like he was used to being around children.Or, Rory can't sleep and he finds the Doctor; they share a moment.
Relationships: Eleventh Doctor & Rory Williams
Comments: 4
Kudos: 48





	A father once

Rory wasn't sure why, but as he restlessly shifted in bed, careful not to wake Amy, his mind kept coming back to the memory of the one and only time the Doctor held Melody in his arms— baby Melody, that is; Not River or Mels. He had looked so natural while doing it, like he'd had lots of experience with babies before, and it made Rory think. The Doctor had said he didn't have children and that the cot was his, but he never answered when Amy asked if he had ever had children, and his eyes had flashed with an emotion Rory couldn't quite decipher but could tell was strong.

Rory knew what the Doctor had done to his own kind, wiping them out for the greater good, but he had never actually thought about the implications of it. If the Doctor destroyed his planet with everyone still in it and insisted he was the last of the Time Lords, then that meant he had also killed whatever family he had that day.

Thinking back, the way the Doctor acted around Melody had been almost… paternal. It was like a switch had been flicked in his mind the moment he saw Rory's baby, like he was used to being around children.

So what if… No, Rory was sure. The Doctor _was_ a father and it showed sometimes in the way he acted. But if he was a father and he was the last of his kind, then that meant all his children were dead, gone forever.

And he was most likely responsible for it.

Rory let out a tired sigh, running a hand through his hair, and carefully maneuvered himself to get up from their bed without bothering his wife.

Wrapping his robe around himself, he quietly walked out and towards the kitchen, deciding that some water might help him fall asleep. However, the TARDIS didn't seem to agree with his plan because when he reached the door he was convinced connected to the kitchen, he was greeted by the planetarium (which in his opinion seemed a bit pointless considering they were on a literal spaceship).

He blinked, accepting the fact that if the TARDIS wanted him here there was little he could do about it, and stepped in. He looked around curiously, having only been in the room once before, and that's when he spotted him; sitting cross legged on the floor at the front to the theater, the Doctor was messing with a small yellowish box. From his position on the other side of the room, Rory couldn't tell what was inside it.

"Doctor?" he called, for lack of a better idea. The Doctor startled, turning his head around to stared at him like a child caught with their hand inside the cookie jar, and then he smiled cheerfully like he always did.

"Rory!" he exclaimed as Rory made his way towards him, wrapping his robe tighter around himself since it was a bit chilly. “I thought you'd gone to bed. Or is it morning already? No, no. I’m pretty sure there’s a few more hours left yet, so what are you doing up then?”

"Can't sleep," he shrugged, taking a seat next to the Time Lord and leaning back on the wall. "What are you doing?"

"Oh, just…" he gestured vaguely at the box, which was full of papers and different objects, Rory noticed, "Going through some old stuff. Things old companions have left behind; the TARDIS saves it all and puts it in here."

Rory eyed the box questioningly; it was only slightly bigger than a shoe box, so Rory wasn't sure how much could actually fit in there, unless…

The Doctor grinned cheekily, no doubt guessing Rory's exact thoughts, "Bigger on the inside, Rory."

He rolled his eyes amused, "Of course."

The Doctor laughed, and then looked back at the box, a longing emotion settling in his eyes, and to Rory he looked so incredibly old for a moment. He was an ancient being with a youthful face, but his eyes always betrayed his age somehow.

"Wanna hear some stories, Rory? It might help you fall asleep," he offered. When Rory nodded curiously, shifting slightly closer to the other, the Time Lord picked up a photo from the box and showed it to him. It was of a young, dark haired girl with a cap; she was smiling. "That's Susan, my very first companion. She was there when I first stole the TARDIS."

“So she was from your planet then?”

“Uh-hum,” he nodded, smiling softly at the picture and whatever memory it brought him. “Clever girl; she got that from her grandfather.”

“Her grandfather?”

The Doctor glanced sideways in his direction, smirking, “Me, obviously.”

Rory blinked; even when he had been theorizing about the Doctor having kids less than half an hour ago it still came as a surprise to hear him saying it. “You’ve got grandchildren?”

“Well, don’t act so surprised,” the Time Lord huffed amused. “I’m nine hundred years old; it should hardly come as a surprise that I’ve had children at some point.”

“No, of course not, but…” Rory trailed off sheepishly, waving a hand in the air vaguely. “It just surprised me. How old were you when she was born…?”

The Doctor hummed thoughtfully, “About four hundred, I believe. She was so young when we left Gallifrey; barely fifteen.”

“Shouldn’t she have to be going to school?” he frowned, more curious than disapproving, and then a thought occurred to him, “Do Time Lords even have schools?”

“We do.” The alien grimaced, “But she never went to the Academy, no. For the best, really; she would still be on Gallifrey otherwise.” He waved a hand dismissively, “I got to raise her and she got to live happily, so the rest is unimportant.”

Rory hesitated; he didn’t want to push too far and have the Doctor put a barrier between them again, not now when he was in a rare sharing mood and he usually never said a thing about his past. Ultimately, he let it go in favor of focusing back on the box, “What else have you got in there?”

The Doctor smiled, picking another item and launching into the story behind it with a content if slightly wistful tone. The Doctor’s voice was quiet and soothing, and it was pleasant to listen to in a way he’d never appreciated before. Just for a moment, Rory felt like he was five all over again, snuggling under the covers while his dad read him his favourite bedtime story.

He didn’t remember closing his eyes or when he leaned his head on the Doctor’s shoulder, but he did remember the warm feeling of someone’s lips on top of his head before Morpheus finally took hold of him.


End file.
